Brandon Twp.? A blue note sent home with students from Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School recently has at least one parent seeing red.
The note informed students and parents that the Brandon Township Public Library would be closed to students 12 and under on March 24 (a half-day of school) unless they were accompanied by a parent and was the last straw for Diana Kowalski, a Brandon resident and mom of a student at BFIS.
‘That blue note was a pink-slip to our kids,? says Kowalski.’It’s too late, the damage is done. Our children are suffering for this.?
Kowalski’s daughter Caitlin is a fifth-grade honor roll student at BFIS and in the past was a frequent visitor to the library, which is located at 304 South St., next to the school. The Kowalskis have rarely visited the library in the past year as the library staff has tried to deal with high numbers of kids in the library after school. Issues the library has faced as a result of kids inundating the library after school include lower adult patronage, vandalism and rowdy behavior.
The library staff has sought community help and several solutions have been tried, including an after school task force, and after school clubs at different venues including the school itself and Ortonville Baptist Church. The library’s latest efforts include ‘The After School Place,? (in which students must remain in a specific room at the library during after school hours doing homework, utilizing computers, or watching a movie and leaving only with a pass) and a new policy, in which children ages 10-12 must be accompanied by an adult while at the library, unless attending a library-sponsored program (such as ‘The After School Place.?) Children ages 9 and under must remain supervised at all times by a parent or guardian.
Zoe Pearson, library public relations director, says the new policy was put into effect in February and was designed with three goals in mind? to teach and uphold accepted library behavior; to keep children safe; and to open the library to all patrons.
‘This is not a latch key program,? says Pearson. ‘We are here to provide library services. Young children may not be in the library unsupervised because it’s not safe. Many, many adults stopped using the library during after school hours because children were unsupervised and misbehaving. Now, from 2:30 on, the library is filled with adult patrons who feel they can use the library again.?
Kowalski, however, says she and her daughter don’t feel welcome at the library anymore.
‘We feel threatened going there,? says Kowalski, who has been taking her daughter to the Centennial Library in Dearborn. ‘I know I don’t stand alone on this. A public library should be open to all.We should be welcome. How can the library be closed? They’re sending a message to the children- we don’t want you. Everytime someone does something wrong, do you close the place down??
Pearson said the library was not closed, contrary to the top line of the note sent home with students.
‘We have never barred anyone from the library unless they were misbehaving,? she says. ‘We don’t run the after school place on half-days, only on full days and thus there was no program for the kids, so they needed supervision… I think it’s a great policy. It’s cut down on all kinds of misbehavior.?
Pearson provided the letter the library staff gave to the school for students, which noted that because March 24 was a half-day, there would be no after school program. The letter concludes, ‘Per the library policy, children ages 12 and under will NOT be allowed in the library without a parent or guardian (age 16 or above). Please make other childcare arrangements. If underage children do come to the library unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, the parent will be called. If the parent cannot be reached or is unable to pick up the child within 15 minutes, the police will be called. Thank you, The Brandon Township Public Library Staff.?